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The Calvert Social Index®
Frequently Asked Questions

Look at the Calvert Social Index

 

What is the Calvert Social Index®?

Calvert, a leader in sustainable and responsible investing, has created the Calvert Social Index® as a broad-based, rigorously constructed benchmark for measuring the performance of US-based sustainable and responsible companies.

How is the Calvert Social Index constructed?

Calvert starts by taking the 1,000 largest companies in the US, based on total market capitalization, included in the Dow Jones Total Market Index (the Dow Jones TMI).

Calvert's Social Research Department then analyzes each company. A social audit is conducted in the following areas: Products, Environment, Workplace, Integrity. The stocks that meet Calvert's social criteria make up the Calvert Social Index.

What specifically does the social audit evaluate?

  • Products: Are the company's products safe, useful and beneficial? Does the company produce firearms, tobacco, alcohol, pornography, casino games or military weaponry?
  • Environment: Is the company in compliance with government regulations? Is it working to reduce its impact on the environment?
  • Workplace: How does the company rate on labor relations? Does it treat employees fairly, offer reasonable benefits, and provide a safe workplace?
  • Integrity: Does the company have good community relations? If it's a bank, does it provide credit without discriminating against people in its service area? If it's a natural resources extractor, do they deal fairly with indigenous people? Companies with overseas operations, such as footwear and apparel manufacturers, are included as well.

What are the sector weightings of the Index?

As of 4/30/2013
Economic Sector Percentage
Information Technology 27.84%
Financials 17.45%
Consumer Discretionary 15.58%
Health Care 12.46%
Consumer Staples 10.52%
Industrials 8.21%
Telecomm Services 3.01%
Energy 2.19%
Materials 1.54%
Utilities 1.20%
Cash and Cash Equivalents 0.00%

How is the Index maintained?

Calvert reconstitutes the Index once a year in September based on an updated list of the 1,000 largest companies as of the third Friday in June. Calvert also reviews the economic sector weightings and consider limiting the largest weighting to a pre-established level. To accomplish this, the weightings of individual Index components are modified. A quarterly review is also conducted to reflect share adjustments, modify Index components due to changes in sustainability criteria, and to review sector weightings. The Index is reviewed regularly to reflect corporate actions such as mergers and acquisitions.

What is the weighted average market capitalization of the Index?

The capitalization of the companies in the Index will change due to market movements. As of 4/30/2013, the weighted average market cap was $89.96 billion.

How is the value of the Index calculated?

Calvert Social Index is a market capitalization-weighted Index. This type of index measures the changes in the market value of the index components as a whole. On the inception date (April 28, 2000), the Calvert Social Index's base value was set to 100. The value of the Index is updated every business day.

How many companies are in the Index?

As of 4/30/2013, there are 671 companies in the Index. However, this number may change over time because of company mergers or changes due to sustainability criteria.

What criteria do Calvert use to screen companies for the Index?

Index companies must meet Calvert's criteria in the following areas:

  • Governance and ethics
  • Environment
  • Workplace
  • Product safety and impact
  • Community relations
  • International operations and human rights
  • Indigenous Peoples' rights

What is Calvert's social screening process?

Calvert's Social Research Department analyzes each company in each criteria area with its proprietary social research methodology, using:

  • In-house files on almost 7,000 companies. We gather information using the Lexis®-Nexis® database, the world's largest news and business information service. We also subscribe to hundreds of specialty publications, ranging from industry publications to social responsibility reports.
  • Conversations with company management. We want to know what challenges they face and what (if any) innovative programs they have that contribute to best practices within their industry.
  • Data from US environmental and social regulatory agencies. For example, our analysts can directly link to the Environmental Protection Agency's databases and review a company's environmental performance by factory.
  • Discussions with advocacy organizations such as environmental groups, consumer groups, labor unions, and human rights organizations. While we don't always agree with their viewpoints, being involved in these communities can provide a lot of critical information.

Why would a stock be added to or removed from the Index?

There are three reasons:

  • Annual reconstitution
  • The stock may disappear from the universe due to a corporate event such as a merger or acquisition
  • The issuing company may now or no longer meet our social screening standards

 

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